Hell Yeah
Hell Yeah is the third studio album released on May 7, 2004 through Wreckway Records by American pop punk band Call It a Tragedy. Their major-label debut, this album was their first commercially successful, debuting at #2 on the Billboard 200, largely thanks to its singles, "Love Song", "Rock Song", and "Dance Song", all of which broke the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 throughout 2004. Production The album was about to begin production in July 2003 when Jonathan Wreckway, owner of Wreckway Records, had found them on the Internet by accident, and was very interested in their "new pop punk sound", quickly auditioning/signing them. Being given plenty of time to record this third album, the members of Call It a Tragedy certainly did take their time in recording it. Taking from July 2003-December 2003, about half a year, much longer than most of their recording/writing processes. The band had decided to stick to their previous sound, for the most part, not wanting to disappoint fans who were afraid that them signing to a major record label would cause them to "sell out". However, they sarcastically commented that their decision to add in a piano into a song or two (played by bassist Tyler Johnson) would most likely result in a huge backlash. Sales The album was certified 4x Platinum by the RIAA, for sales of over four million. Singles *"Love Song", the lead single, was released December 8, 2003, and debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #89 for the week ending December 22, 2003. Thanks to massive airplay and continued sales, next week, the song jumped 52 positions to #37 and another 17 positions to #20 by December 29, 2003, considered almost instantenous for a song to do such in as little as three weeks. The song reached a peak of #17 in January 2004. It was certified Platinum in the U.S. *"All Over You" was chosen as the album's second single, released March 5, 2004. The song, not near as successful as its predecessor, managed a debut/peak of #54 before falling off a few weeks later. *"Rock Song" was released on June 1, 2004 as the third single, the first one released after the album's release. The song was the album's most successful, peaking at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks after a slow climb, and being certified Platinum by the RIAA. *"Dance Song" was released as the album's fourth and final single, on September 12, 2004. Another hit for Call It a Tragedy, the song peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Platinum. Reception The album was received negative-to-mixed responses from critics, who "enjoyed the album's music and pop punk style, but disliked the sexist, chauvenist lyrics and persistent profanity dominating the material from it". Many critics also commented negatively on the age of the band members at the time: "These guys are, what, thirteen? Fourteen? They're way too young to be making music like this! And they're talking about stuff that college kids might. The title of the album is Hell Yeah; it's disgraceful and just embarrassing." Personnel *Stephen DeHolles — guitar, vocals *Tyler Johnson — bass, backing vocals, piano *Richard White — drums